Stuttgart. This year top German athletes voted diver Patrick Hausding the CHAMPION OF THE YEAR. As usual, the winner receives a smart fortwo as a prize. For the 17th time the urban mobility brand supported CHAMPION OF THE YEAR as a premium partner. In the year of the Olympic Games from 25 September to 2 October 2016 the Deutsche Sporthilfe foundation invited the most successful German athletes to the Spanish ROBINSON Club Playa Granada.

"smart has actively sponsored popular and competitive sports for many years. This commitment is very dear to our heart and we are delighted to be there as a partner once again when the most successful German athletes come together. smart and the top athletes share joie de vivre, challenging the status quo, and a touch of unconventionality", says Michael Schaller, Head of Marketing Communication & Brand Management at smart.

Befitting the sporting event, smart brought its sportiest and most dynamic vehicles along. The participants enthusiastically took up the offer to test the new smart BRABUS as a cabrio, a coupé and as a four-seater. At the closing gala Patrick Hausding (27) was given the keys to his personal smart fortwo. The successful German diver is olympic diving bronze medalist in Rio and won the first medal in this discipline since over 100 years.

smart supports top-class sport

In the framework of the company's sport sponsorship activities smart supports beach volleyball and running. The mobility brand has been actively involved in beach volleyball as an event partner for 13 years and in addition to supporting up-and-coming young athletes it sponsors eleven top teams from Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany. Among them are the new Rio de Janeiro Olympic champions Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst. The London 2012 Olympic champions, Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann, act as brand ambassadors for smart.

Since 2000 smart has been a premium partner of the annual CHAMPION OF THE YEAR award. In addition, since 2015 the brand has been a partner of the Deutsche Sporthilfe foundation and supports athletes, especially up-and-coming young athletes, with special offers to keep them mobile. The sponsorship offers top athletes excellent opportunities to succeed in modern competitive sports. A long-term objective of smart's sponsorship is the better reconcilability of sport and education. Sponsorship of the young sporting elite enables the top athletes to prepare for upcoming international contests.

An overview of the models tested